Prideful Love
by snixor
Summary: A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking down, you can't see something that's above you. - A collection of stories revolving around Ray and Stella. The Power couple.
1. Payback

**We need more of these two, people. Do you not see the chemistry? I do.**

**This is going to be a collection of stories revolving around none other than the power couple we all know and love:**

**Ray and Stella**

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><p><strong>Title: Payback<strong>

**Character(s): Stella Y., Ray B., Olivia W., Mo B., Charlie D., Wen G., Scott P.**

**Summary: Jealousy is evident in the lead guitarist of everyone's favorite band. Mo and Olivia have a creeping suspicion that Ray is the cause.**

**Pairing(s): hinted Ray/Stella**

**Genre: Gen**

**Rating: K**

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><p>Stella's cheeks were burning red as she watch Ray hit on every girl that walked into the cafeteria through the double doors. She clenched and unclenched her fist around the can of Mel's lemonade in her hand, it left a deeper dent with each compression. "He's such a jerk." She scoffed, turning to Mo and resting her chin in her palm.<p>

"Someone's jealous." Mo and Olivia sing-songed, sharing a knowing glance as Scott, Charlie, and Wen snickered in the background.

"I'm not jealous." Stella grunted, propping her feet on the empty chair beside her, her eyes narrowed.

Olivia tucked a strand of blonde behind her left ear and said, "Whatever, Stella, you say the same thing every week. It's getting kind of old."

Stella gasped, insulted. She let out a frustrated sigh, shaking her head. "He's mocking me, seriously. I just know it."

Wen snorted, picking up a french fry and sticking it in his mouth. "What makes you think that?"

"He thinks he's so amazing. So...so perfect! Well," she paused, standing up. "I'll show him!"

The group watched in horror as the rebel marched over to Ray. Her pride was gonna be her downfall someday. It was painfully obvious that she was jealous.

The jock hadn't shown any interest in her, at all. They weren't going to deny that this was going to be an interesting resolution.

Ray raised an eyebrow as Stella approached him. "Can I help you?"

"Just who exactly to you think you are?" the half-Asian snapped, jabbing a finger into his chest.

Ray's blue eyes beamed with amusement. "Excuse me, crazy lady, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Stella only got angrier. "Don't play dumb with me, jock strap! I know the game you're playing."

He stared at the shorter girl and pushed her finger away, an arrogant smirk crawled its way onto his face. "Fill me in, oh wise one." he said, sarcastically.

Stella's face flushed and her glare deepened. How dare he mock her! "I'm done with you picking up everything with boobs-"

"Except you?" the cocky blonde laughed, holding his stomache.

"Shut up, Beech. You disgust me." Stella huffed, turning around. Ray grabbed her shoulder before she got too far, making her turn to face him instead. "What?"

the girl whined, now irritated and somewhat embarrassed.

Ray grinned. "If you wanna go out with me, all you've got to do is ask."

This simple (stupid, _stupid_) statement made Stella nearly go weak in the knees. Damn his charm. He knew how to push every single on of her buttons.

She pulled out of his grip ad scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself, Ray."

"I could say the same, _Yamada_," he retorted, emphasizing her last name.

Stella's heart dropped the tiniest bit. "God, you're so arrogant! That's your problem! Too much freaking pride."

"So? What are you gonna do about it?" He challenged, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows.

"Nothing."

"Wait...what?"

Stella smirked, leaning towards him, just so.

"Two can play at that game." And with that, she walked away.

She made sure to flirt with every guy she saw on her way back to her table.


	2. Speak

**Title: Speak**

**Character(s): Stella Y. and Ray B. Olivia W., Wen G., Charlie D., Mo B. - background.**

**Summary: His silence speaks volumes.**

**Pairing(s): Ray/Stella**

**Genre: Romance**

**Rating: K+**

**A/N: I think I rather like this one. (: I'd like to credit Miss-Madi-13 for the idea. Her one-shot inspired me.**

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><p>The crowd that filled Dante's was loud and excited. They had posters and signs that said things varying from 'I LOVE YOU!' to 'Love from Milly', they were bright and blinding. I could hardly concentrate on the audience or the song we were playing. I barely played the right notes, not that anyone noticed. My mind was elsewhere, it was set specifically on an arrogant jock that I have grown to love. He'd been plaguing my thoughts for the past week and a half. I shook away my thoughts, focusing on Olivia's voice and the words on encouragement I heard from the massive body of people. I spotted a muscular blonde to my left and couldn't help but compare him to Ray. I was losing my mind.<p>

After the show, we settled at a booth towards the back of the pizzeria and snacked on pizza and sipped on soda into the late hours of the evening. Our fans had made their ways home and we decided that we should do the same, we had school in the morning, and even rockstars needed their sleep. Wen and Olivia left at the same time and Mo left right behind them. Charlie and I chatted for a while before he gathered his things and left as well. I was all alone, but I was nowhere near ready to leave. I walked around a bit, finishing off the watered down cola that was left in my glass, and helped Dante wipe down all of the tables. I was only too happy to help. Eventually, I had to leave, so I grabbed my faux-leather jacket and pushed my way through the door into the chilly night that awaited me. I began my walk home, my hand grasping my cell phone just in case. I took my time alone to think. I thought about my friends and our journey, I thought about my little brothers and my parents. I thought about Ray. I heard his arrogant voice in my head and I saw his blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes in my imagination. Lost in my own world, I wasn't paying too much attention, because I ended up running into a solid body. We both fell to the ground.

"Watch where you're going!" the body exclaimed. My blood ran cold. The very person I was trying to escape was on the ground beside me. His eyes narrowed as he stood, brushing himself off with out so much as a glance in my direction.

I picked myself up, quickly, rolling my eyes. "Gee, I could say the same to you." I retorted, crossing my arms as his eyes met mine. He seemed angry.

"Whatever." Ray said, shoving his way past me and walking in the direction I had just come from. Now curious, I followed him.

He must have noticed because he stopped, looking over his shoulder, and causing my to run into his back. He turned to look me in the eye just as his own were over-flowing with tears. I resisted the urge to reach out to him; we were supposed to be enemies, why did I care that he was in pain? After everything he'd done to my friends? Something compelled me to ask him what was wrong.

"I'm fine." He sniffed, running his hands under his eyes, quickly. "Why do you even care?" He questioned, eyeing me. I had to choose my answer wisely, but I honestly didn't know. So I shrugged a shoulder, taking a step closer.

"Why does it matter?" I asked, my voice soft. For some reason, I wanted him to trust me.

Ray scoffed, looking towards the sky. He shook his head a few times, and made a noise that oddly resembled chuckling. He ran a hand through his hair. "It's all your fault." he accused, his eyes sliding into a glare. I noticed that his face was now red.

I opened my mouth to retort, but he cut me off before I had the chance. "_You_. You and your stupid band of misfits." he said, loudly. "If you hadn't come here and decided that you wanted to make a difference, my life would still be perfect. I'd have all the girls, I'd have all the friends, and I'd still be king." His voice cracked halfway through the explaination. I wanted desperately to hug him, or punch him, or both. Instead I replied.

"None of this is _our _fault. We only did what we thought was right," I told him, almost angrily. "We made ourselves a voice for the voiceless." I immediately knew that was the wrong answer.

"God, would you shut up about your stupid revolution?" He yelled, his voice cutting through the night, harsh. "All it's done is taken away my friends; my dad was actually proud of me until you guys came along." He paused, glaring at me. I avoided his gaze. "I _hate _you guys."

I understood now. He didn't do all of these things because he wanted to, he did them because he had to do them. The band, the sports, the arrogance. It was all for his father's judgmental eyes. This conversation was becoming entirely too expressive. I'd learned more about Ray than I'd ever wanted to know in a matter or minutes.

I took a step towards him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. He shook it off, looking at me as if I had lost my mind. At that point, I was sure that I had. Stepping even closer, I pulled the slightly taller boy into a hug, wrapping my arms around his torso in an attempt to comfort him. I knew what it felt like to want to impress your parents and I hated that he had to experience it, too. To my surprise, he didn't struggle, but only pulled me closer. He breaths became shallow and I realized that he was crying. I whispered words of encouragement, because I had already acted so out of character that night, there was no point in turning back now. He pulled away from me, just the slightest bit, and made eye contact with me (we'd been doing that an awful lot). For what seemed like hours, he stared, looking for something I wasn't sure he would find. Before I had the chance to question him, he kissed me. It was wet with tears, but it was meaningful all the same. I returned the kiss.

It wasn't overly passionate and it wasn't magical, but it felt right. It felt _special_.

I wasn't sure if it was the kind of success his father was looking for, but Ray had successfully won my heart. He pulled away nearly a minute later, resting his forehead against mine. He didn't say anything, but his eyes spoke volumes.


	3. Mine

**Title: Mine**

**Character(s): Stella Y. and Ray B.**

**Summary: Ray saw Stella first and he had no intention of sharing.**

**Pairing(s): Ray/Stella**

**Genre: Romance/Humor**

**Rating: T**

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><p>I saw her first. It's as simple as that. I was the first one to speak to her on her very first day on Mesa High soil. She was mine, and if anyone wanted to so much as <em>talk<em> to her, they to go through me. She was feisty and I liked that about her. She wasn't some priss that depended solely on some guy to take care of her, she could do it all. She was pretty, too, and that's always a plus. I watched from my locker as some scrawny kid with long, brown hair (that was in desperate need of a trim, I might add) moved in on my woman. Stupid Stella, always attracting such...losers. This guy was obviously new-ness, I could just see his 'noob'-ness polluting the air of my hallway. He shot her a crooked grin, and I had to resist the urge to beat his face in. I wished that I could read lips or something, because whatever he was saying must have been pretty damn interesting; Stella hadn't walked away yet. I glared daggers into the back of her head, but not before letting my eyes lower a bit to catch a glimpse of her "assets" (she's hot, I'm a guy, sue me for taking a peek every once and a while!) After the many nerds I'd driven away, she still wasn't getting the memo. Scrawny Kid (now that I thought about it, he seemed vaguely familiar. Toby? Timmy?) threw her a wink, turning on his heel and walking away right as the warning bell rang. Stella closed her locker and started off in another direction. Repeating her action, I went after her.

"Hello, _Stella_," I greeted, finally catching up (she was fast- for a girl) and blocking her path. I put on a special smirk, just for her, and winked.

She curled her lip up in what I assumed was disgust, she looked me up and down before bringing her eyes up to meet mine. She narrowed her eyes. "What do you want, Ray? I'm gonna be even later for class than I already am." She spat (not literally, thank God).

"Aw, is that anyway to treat a friend?" I teased, tsk-ing her, hoping to get a reaction.

"Cut to the chase, parasite." She replied, annoyed. Charming.

"You know that loser you were just hanging out with a second ago, uh, Tony?" I asked, snapping my fingers as I tried to find his name. It was on the tip of my tongue, something with a 'T'...Todd? Tyler? Tom? Tra-

"Billy." Stella corrected, interrupting my thoughts. Wow, I was way off. "I was talking to _Billy_ and I don't see how that's any of your business." She continued, crossing her arm, and cocking her hip out to the right. I scoffed. She was obviously lost, or perhaps she'd hit her head.

"It's my business," I started, "Because I saw you first." Her eyes widened and she looked as if she were going to shoot a baby (yeah, it was that intense).

"Because you saw me first?" Stella repeated. "That is complete bull! What does that have to do with anything?" I scratched the back of my head and shrugged. She groaned. "Are you the reason all of these guys have been avoiding me?"

I smirked, popping my collar. I was better than I thought. "Yeah, I certainly am." She punched me in the shoulder. "Ow!"

"You are so arrogant! You don't _own _me! I'm a strong-" Here we go. "-independent, and confident woman!" She ranted, stomping her foot. I rolled my eyes as she continued to talk about her _band_ and how successful they are and blah, blah, blah. I spaced out after the third verse of "More Than a Band". And she thought I was bad about quoting songs. I slowly took a few steps closer to her, wrapping my arms around her waist. She didn't take much notice.

"-and you've got another thing coming if you think that you can just swoop in like a freaking super hero, with your stupid hair and your stupid muscles! I can handle myself." She said, loudly, (hopefully) completing her speech to end all speeches. I was pretty sure that she'd lost a little bit of her mind in the tem minutes it took her to say what she had to say. She looked down at our nearly touching bodies and raised an eyebrow. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Claiming my territory." I shrugged, looking down at her.

"What do you mean claiming your-" She began to say, but I cut her off. My lips met hers, quickly, she talked too much and I'd been waiting to do this for a long time. After about twelve seconds, she pushed me away, wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand. She brought her free ahdn up and slapped me across the face.

"Ow!" I exclaimed, letting her go and grabbing my cheek. She eyed me for a second in silence before grabbing the collar of my letterman jacket and pulling me towards the janitor's closet. I had no idea what was going on, and I was sure this was the end, I could have pissed myself if it weren't for the next thing she said.

"You've got a lot more claimin' to do." She whispered into my ear, pushing me up against the wall, once we were inside. It was seriously the hottest thing...ever.

The door closed after that.

It didn't open for a long time.


	4. Firecracker

**Title: Firecracker**

**Character(s): Scott P. and Ray B.**

**Summary: Ray and Scott have a "serious" conversation.**

**Pairing(s): Hinted Ray/Stella**

**Genre: Humor/Gen**

**Rating: T**

**A/N: This is FULL DIALOGUE. It's prior to Lemonade Mouth's success. I'm kind of lazy today (I was yesterday, too). So, don't expect it to be epic or anything. It's also really short. xD**

**FOUL LANGUAGE WARNING. ;P**

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><p>"So, Ray, what do you think of those lemon heads?"<p>

"Other than that they lost their _minds_? They're pathetic."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"Well, what about the chicks?"

"What about them?"

"Dude."

"What?"

"I mean, like, do you think any of them are cute? For example: Olivia. On a scale of one to ten. Rate her."

"...Seven."

"Seven? Man, I'd give her like a nine."

"Too timid. She needs a personality."

"Needs a personality? She's a sweetheart!"

"That's just it, she's a _sweetheart_. I want a firecracker."

"Alright, whatever. Mo?"

"Your girlfriend?"

"Wipe that smirk off your face. We're taking a break, just answer the question."

"Eight. Take the pole out of her ass and then we'll talk higher."

"Wow. You are taking this really seriously. Since when do you look at personality?"

"Since now, moving on..."

"Okay. Uh, Stella?"

"Ten."

"Really? Are you, like, serious?"

"She's kinda cute."

"And...?"

"And not a total pansy?"

"And?"

"Okay, she's hot! She'd probably be a total freak in the sack, now that I think about it..."

"...Dude. You like her!"

"Who says?"

"The blush on your face."

"Keep talking and you won't have a face."

"..."

"Thank you."

"Well, she is a firecracker. Does she make you explode-"

"Do not finish that question, man."

"-in your pants?"

"..."

"Ow!"

"Fuck you, man."


End file.
